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3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

0 A. SOHWARZWAELDER. PRUGESS OF AND MECHANISM FOR REMOVING BEAN PROM WHEAT- No. 288,669.

Patented Nov. 20, 1883.

H H k n N \k M 3 Q 0 0 0 0 6 N. PETERS. PlmbLilhm-npher, Washington. D c.

3 Sheets Sheet 2.

(No Model) A. A SOHWARZWAELDER. PROOESS OF AND MECHANISM FOR REMOVING BEAN FROM WHEAT.

Patented Nov. 20, 1883.

A I I .I I I I I I I .I

I I I I I ANTON SGHWVARZWAELDER, F v lVllIlVltllEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA.

PROCESS OF AND M ECH-A' NlSM 'Fflfli REMOVING 'BRNN FROM WHEAT.

Application filed December 4, 1882. (No model.)

'20 all 1071,0712 .it .may concern:

Be .it known that I,,ANTON SGHWARZWAEL DER, .1211 subject of the Emperor :of Germany, and who has declared. his intention of beconr ing a citizen of the United States, and who resides at Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin, in the State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements ina Pro- *cess of and Mechanism for Removing Bran from dVheat, of which the following specification is a full, clear, and exact deseription, reference being also had to the d awings, in which= accompanying about blood-heat temperature, and is .run out Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view, and Fig. 2 i is a longltudinal sectional view, of the bran-removing machine.

Fig. 3 is a view of a small f portion of the perforated iron of thecasing, il- 1 lustrating its construction. Fig. 4 is a view of 1 the barrel or tank holding the bran-loosening 1 compound, and of a series of couveyers and bran-removing machines for conducting the branremoving process. Fig. 5 is a sectional cially adapted to the present purpose.

This invention relates to a process of and mechanism for removi ng the bran from wheat preparatory to its reduction into flour; and the process consists, as hereinafterexplained,.in subjecting the wheat-berry, with the bran on it, to the action of water containing lime, for the purpose of moistening and loosening the bran, and then removing the bran and germ by mechanical means; and the invention also consists in the mechanism used for removing the bran.

The wheat-berry has several coatings or layers of bran, the number varying with the different kinds of .wheat. Some springwheat has two or three coatings or layers of bran, while some winter-wheat has four or five layers., To soften andloosen theselayers, I preparea solution of water and lime inpropor tions that will cause the solutiontoloosen the outer layer when applied in quantitysufficient to .moisten .the .bran. In forming this solution one-quarter. ofa pound of quicklimeis taken, and water enough added to it to form about one pound of slaked lime, and then this mixture is combined with water in the proportion of one pound of the former to about one hundred pounds of the latter. dhe solution is stored in a vessel containing a' stirrer for agitating it, so that the lime andwater will be keptwthoroughly mixed. .The solution is kept heated, by steam or other means, at

of the vesselonto the grain in quantity su'fificient to dampen or moisten'theouter layerof bran. The berries of wheat are agitated, ls'o thatall or a good part of them are reached and acted upon by the solution, which'i's 'allowed to fall in a thin stream or spray, or in drops, onto the bulk of the grain, in quantity sufficient forthe purpose. The moistened grain is then run into a beater, where, by attrition, the moistenedand loosened layer is taken from the berries. The berries anddetached bran are then separated from eachother,

and the berries, with the remaining-J ayersrofl bran thereon, are again treated, as before, with thelsolution, after which the same steps are followed as in the first instance, and so on 'until all the layers of bran are all removed.

The proportions. of lime and water given fiJPEGiFIGATIGN forming part of Letters' Patent No. 288,669, dated November 20, T883.

for producing the solution have been found most satisfactory; but any deviation therefrom not essentially different in effectmaybe made. Other alkaline solutions notessentially differ. ent in strength and effect may be used instead of the lime solution. which, however, is bef lievedto be best, and is preferred by vme.

The mechanism illustrated 'in the accompanying drawings is considered the best for carrying out my process; but I do not wish to be confined thereto.

The illustrated mechanism consistsof a barrel or tank, A, in which an agitating deviceis arranged to be revolved to keep the heavy particles of the lime in motion and prevent them settling upon the bottom of the tank.

This agitator consists of an upright shaft, 0,

adapted to be revolved by gearing i),- or other means outside the tank, and is armed with a cross-bar, c, and stirrer-s d on the inside of the ICO tank. Stationary rods or fingers 0 may also be arranged in the bottom of the tank,as shown, if desired. A pipe, m, connects the barrel with a steam-generator,for the purpose of supplying steam to heat the solution.

Leading from the tank A are a series of pipes, B B 13 for carrying the solution to the troughs 0, through which the wheat runs to the beater-machines, as hereinafter described. Each pipe is provided with a funnel-shaped mouth-piece, 9, open at its lower end, which may have its lower end perforated, so that the solution will pass therefrom in a thin stream or series of drops onto the grain; and it may be controlled bya sto i-cock. tank which has been employed has a dischargeopening of about three-eighths of an inch in diameter.

\Vhile any suitable means may be employed to apply the solution, still I have found that running the wheat into a screw-conveyer, C, and allowing a small quantity of the solution to run upon it as it falls into the conveyer, answers the purpose admirably, as the revolving of the conveyer thoroughly mixesthe wheat and solution and spreads the solution quite evenly over the grains. The conveyer shown in Figs. 4 and 7 is of the common pattern used in most mills, elevators, 810., and consists in a central shaft, 0, armed with the worm or screw 0", and adapted to be revolved in a stationary casing, C. This answers the purpose; but for a more thorough mixing and agitation I'prefer using the form shown in Figs. 8 and 9. This consists in an outer cylindrical casing, P, adapted to be revolved in any suitable manner suggesting itself to a mechanic, inside ,7 of which ashaft, R, provided with screwshaped beater arms or blades T, is adapted to be revolved in the opposite direction from the casing P. This apparatus may be constructed in any suitable manner; but for the purpose of illustration I have shown the cylinder P mounted loosely upon the shaft R by sleeves or collars n it upon the heads P P of the cylinder, while the shaft itself is journaled by its ends in frames UU as shown. Bythis means the shaft and cylinder are free to be revolved in opposite directions, but retain their same v relative positions.

One of the sleeves, n, is made longer than the other, and is provided with a pulley, V. adapted to be revolved by a belt, V leading from a counter pulley, V", on a countershaft,

V, attached to the frame U, as shown. Secured to the shaft It, outside the sleeve 01., is

' another pulley, V adapted to be revolved by a belt, V, leading from another pulley, V upon the same counter-shaft, V*, as the pulley V. The pulley V is twice the diameter of the pulley V, and the pulley V is twice the diameter of the pulley V and the belt V will be crossed, as shown.

When the counter-shaft V is revolved, the cylinder P will be revolved in one direction,

and the shaft R, with its screw-blades T, will The pipe to the be revolved in the opposite direction, and at four times the speed of the cylinder P, by reason of the difference in size of the pulleys and the crossing of one of the belts. The speed of the shaft R will be about one hundred revolutions .per minute, and the cylinder P about twenty-five revolutions per minute.

The head P willbe formed open,with spokes or arms, and a stationary auxiliary head, P, will be arranged over the end of the cylinder P, through which the feed-spout P is run, the open spokes of the head P permitting the grain to flow through it freely to the interior of the cylinder. The grain is discharged through a series of slots, r, into'a spout, 0*, from which it is run to the beater-machine. The grain running through this machine is not only thoroughly mixed and agitated to spread the lime solution,introduced through the spoutP", over the kernels, but the rapid action of the blades T throws the grain with considerable force against the interior of the cylinder P, and thereby detaches and forces off a large amount ofthe bran that has been loosened by the lime solution, and assists the beater-machines in their work.

The conveyer will be made long enough to hold the wheat in contact with the solution a sufficient length of time to allow the outer layer of the bran to become softened and loosened, and then the wheat is run from the conveyer into the beater machine before mentioned. The construction of this beater-machine is shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and consists of two heads or end plates, D D connected to each other at their lower parts by a semi-cylindrical trough-shaped metal casing, E, and at their upper parts by curved eccentric plates E F F and straight eccentric plates G G G*, the straight plates being provided on their interior faces with angular diagonal sh arp-pointed serrations g, as shown, the whole thus forming a hollow casing, the lower half, E, in a semi-cylindrical form, and the upper half divided by the tangential plates into angularshaped recesses H H H. As many of the eccentric plates as desired may be employed.

I is a shaft mounted in suitable bearings on the heads D D", and passing through the machine parallel with the semi-cylindrical bottom E, the axis of the shaft coinciding with the center line of bottom E. Upon this shaft I, at suitable points, are two hubs, KK having arms L, three pair being shown; but as many as desired may be used.

Connecting each alternate pair of the outer ends of the arms L are beater-strips M. These beater-strips will be arranged in a screw form, as shown, so that in revolving the beaters will not only carry the wheat around and throw it against the sharp-pointed serrations 9, but will also gradually move it along from the feed end to the discharge end of the machine. The grain is fed in by a spout, h, at one end, and discharged through a spout, 'i, at the other end. A portion of the semi-cylindripasses out through the spout t.

cal plate E (about one-third of its length) will be formed of perforated metal N, through which the bran removed from the wheat escapes, and is thus separated. from the wheat to a great extent,and not carried off therewith.

'By this means the wheat having the outer layer of its bran loosened and softened is caught up by thebeaters M and thrown against the sharp serrations 9 again and again in its passage through the machine, and the loosened bran is torn off and forced out through the perforated metal N,while the shorn wheat The rapid revolution of the heaters twirls the grain so fast that when the berries leave the machine they are dry.

A fan, X, or equivalent device, is used in connection with the last beating-machine, so as to separate the loose bran and germ from the berry. If desired, a fan may be used with each beater-machine of the series, but it is not necessary. As many sets of these beater-machines, conveyers, and pipes for feeding the lime solution to the wheat will be used as there are layers of bran to be removed. The grain passes out of one beater into a conveyer, where it is again acted on by the solution, and

then into another beater, and so on till the beater-machines may be used, if desired, by

conveying the grain after each treatment up into the hopper and passing it through the process again; but by arranging as many dif-. ferentbeater-machines, miXing-eonveyers, and lime-solution pipes as there are layers of bran to be removed, much time may be saved.

Having described my invention and set forthits merits, what I claim is- 1. The process of removing the branand germs from wheat and other kinds of grain preparatory to grinding or making into flour,

which consists in first moistening the grain with an alkaline solution to loosen the bran on the berries, and then subj ecting the grain while thus moistened to mechanical attrition or agitation for removing the loosened bran and germ, substantially as herein specified.

2. The process of removing bran and germs from wheat and other kinds of grain preparatory to grinding or making into flour, which consists in first moistening the grain with a solution of one part of unslaked lime in four hundred parts of water, or thereabout, and then subjecting the grain while thus moistened to mechanical attrition or agitation for removing the loosened bran and germ, substantially as herein specified.

3. The process of removing the bran and germs fromwheatand other kinds of grain preparatory to grinding or making into flour, which consists in first moistening the grain with an alkaline solution to loosen a portion of the bran on the berries, then subjecting the grain while thus moistened to mechanical at trition or agitation for removing the loosened portion of the bran, then repeating the alkaline moistening and mechanical attrition or agitation while the grain is thus moistened until all of the bran and germ is removed, substantially as herein specified.

4. The combination of the storing-tank, the screw-conveyer, and the beater-machine, having angular serrations on its inside face, and

" a perforated bottom and a revolving beater,

substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination of the storing tank,the

conveyer composed of a revolving cylinder and a screw revolving in the opposite direction to the cylinder, the beater-machine, having a perforated bottom and angular serrations or ribs on its inside face, and the revolving beater, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination of the storing-tank, the series of beater-machines having angular serits inside face, in combination with the re- .volving beater, substantially as and for the purpose set forth. I

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ANTON SOHWARZWAELDER. WVitnesses:

O. N. WoonWARn, LoUIs FEE'sER, Sr. 

